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Tuesday, September 14, 1999
Grant delivers
Fuhr solid in debut, but even he can't help the offensive problem
It's how much he can play.
Fuhr skated out onto the Saddledome ice for the first time last night as a member of the Calgary Flames and delivered as promised.
He gave his team a chance to win.
The fact they lost 3-0 is another topic entirely. Certainly it's too early to suggest the Flames suffer offensive shortcomings because they have just one goal in 120 minutes of pre-season hockey.
But just the same, can somebody sign Jarome Iginla soon!
But the impact of a Fuhr on this talent-challenged Flames team was readily apparent in his first game.
There is no panic to his game --he plays with a quiet confidence, a simple game borne of experience.
He just stops pucks.
As one scout said last night, he's going to make the entire Flames defence better.
He'll do that by his mere presence -- providing a level of confidence that defenceman know they have a goalie behind them who can bail them out.
He did it last night.
In two periods he allowed one goal -- a great passing play from Sami Salo to an unchecked Ivan Ciernik who tipped it past a helpless Fuhr. Even still, the still quick Fuhr almost got a pad on it in time.
Compare that with the debut of the anointed 'Next One' Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
Within 24 seconds of his first action, Giguere wandered awkwardly behind the net to stop a shoot-in. He got the puck caught in his skates as he tried to get back in the net and the Sens Mike Fisher tipped home a gift.
All of a sudden a one goal game is 2-0.
Those are the goals that will kill this Flames team in the regular season.
Fuhr will get beat, too, but you don't become one of the game's best by giving up the game-killers.
You don't need to remind Flames fans of what Fuhr can bring to a team. How many years did we see it while he wore those hated Oiler jerseys?
He is the ultimate gamer, a competitor whose game gets better as the pressure increases.
That's why there was an air of excitement when No. 31 skated onto the ice, resplendent in his new Flames colors, save for his still white mask.
In a close game last night he did his job.
There will be no question if he can do it this season.
The question is how often he can do it.
Injuries held him to 39 games last season. There will be no guarantees how much he can play this season.
Certainly GM Al Coates was well aware of the gamble he was taking with Fuhr's health.
But as we saw last night it is a gamble worth taking.
Even at 38 years old there is a lot of game left in Grant Fuhr.
This team lost a franchise-record 19 one-goal games last season.
If Fuhr affected the outcome of four of those, the 1998-99 Calgary Flames would have been a playoff hockey team.
That's the difference Grant Fuhr can make this hockey club.
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